Receiving about two million visits per year ranks Cades Cove in the top ten for annual visitation among National Parks, and it is not even a park in and of itself. Cades Cove lies within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles Tennessee and North Carolina. The reasons Cades Cove is so very worthwhile to visit include the abundant wildlife, you-can-touch-it history, bucolic fields, and breathtaking vistas. To avoid the crowds, I have these suggestions: *Plan to visit during the off season. Cades Cove is open year-round. The busiest visitation month is July, but the other summer vacation months rank right up there. October tops the list some years, as people come from miles away to view the subtle deciduous colors set against rolling ridges and mountain streams. Your driving experience around Cades Cove can be marred by chugging along in traffic. *Get out of your car and plan to take a hike. Besides many log homes, churches, historic barns, outbuildings and a working mill to visit, there are many trails in and around Cades Cove that lead you into the quiet tranquility of the forest, or to the soothing rhythm of a mountain stream. Take a picnic lunch. Hunt for salamanders in the stream. Count the number of deer you see. Subtle jewels of the Cove can be found along the many hiking trails. *Take advantage of the weekly traffic closures to the loop road in Cades Cove. In the summer months, (May through September) the National Park Service closes the Cove's only travel corridor to car traffic on Saturday and Wednesday mornings from sunrise until 10am. Take your bike and get some exercise riding this 11-mile one-way loop road. No bike? You can rent one from the concessionaire. With great chances to spot deer and turkeys and other wildlife, and no sound of engines, it is a delightful way to spend a morning. *Avoid the weekends. If you can arrange your visit during the week, by all means do so. Folks within a few hours drive of the park make day trips to see Cades Cove when the kids are off from school. *Try Rich Mountain Road. If you see a picturesque photo of Cades Cove from a high point, it is most probably from Rich Mountain Road. Be aware that this is a one-way gravel road leading out of the park and into Townsend. Once you take it, you have decided to leave the Cove. The road is twisty and narrow, so it is most decidedly the road less traveled. You do not need a special type of vehicle to drive it, but it is closed in winter. I suggest after having seen all the homesites along the loop road, cutting back across the loop on Sparks Lane, retracing about two miles on the one-way loop road, and leaving the Cove on Rich Mountain Road to get a feel for how travel was for homesteaders of the region. Once you go to Cades Cove, you may also be caught by the charm as I, and so many others have. With these tips in hand, I hope you enjoy it all the more.
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